Constantchange

In 48 hours, my life will change

I have given myself 48 hours to find a room mate or commit to moving in with someone else.

I haven't had very good luck in finding a roomie for the place I'm in now, because, well, it's priced too high for this area. Last night as I walked to look at another apartment, I counted 4 for rent signs advertising a room or a one bedroom apartment. I didn't count the signs for houses. We've got a housing glut here in Atlanta, no two ways about it.

As I called around yesterday to make visiting appointments for this weekend, I heard my story repeated to me again and again; women who have been advertising for room mates for two or three months with no avail. One girl had a story so similar to mine that even though she didn't want a roomie with a cat (she has two dogs), she kindly offered to take me in for a month or two until I find something if nothing works out. She must find someone to pay the rent, and if I don't get a roomie I must move. So at least I have a place to go here in town if I don't find something...

...but if no one calls me, I've got plenty of people to call. I'll find something nearby and cheap, because so many people are without renters.

I love this house. The location is better than anyone else's, and it's bigger than anything else I've seen or heard about, but of course that means it just costs more and so I can't find anybody. I'm having dinner tonight with a girl I met yesterday who seems to have the best set up I could ask for. She even seems to be a good personality match; she's a graphic designer finishing her thesis and working two part time jobs. She has two cats the same age as mine. She lives about 4 blocks away, farther from the train and Little 5, but still in Inman Park.

In a last ditch effort to stay where I am, I'm offering Heidi a free plane ticket to Atlanta if she'll move in with me. She just lost her internship, and she's just as likely to find a job here as NYC. Of course, if it were me, I'd stay in NYC until the last possible minute, until I just couldn't hold on any longer. That's what I did in Boston, and I know that's what Heidi will probably do. But I'm going to tempt her anyway.

The Republican has been pretty supportive in my week of terrible freak-outedness. So has everyone, really.

I had the most stressful week at work I've ever had. I briefly considered quitting, chucking everything in a moving van, and hightailing it to Nashville. This could still happen. But my boss is now planning on sending me to the Bahamas in June, so...maybe I can deal with this.

Everything is harder than you think it's going to be, but sometimes it's easier too. I know that was a non sequitur, I'm just sayin'.

Devon wrote me that she'd like to visit. I wouldn't mind seeing her at all. Maybe that will work out. Maybe I won't have to move. Maybe one day I'll stop getting myself into these sorts of messes, dreaming dreams too big to be contained by my financial situation. Maybe next year the President will be Edwards with Carol Mosley-Braun as VP. Maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass.

There is nothing to do but make it all work. And I will. It's just going to be a bigger job than I signed up for. So of course, nothing has really changed at all.